Djokovic matured on and off the court

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their match in the ATP Rome Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome on May 12, 2011.

Photographed by:Andreas Solaro, AFP/Getty Images

Every glowing adjective, every single superlative that exists in any dictionary, in any language in the tennis universe has already been used in describing the 2011 edition of Novak Djokovic.

And it’s only May.

Who is this sudden Superman, this unbeatable, unshakable force who — gasp! — even has the great dirt master Rafael Nadal completely bereft of solutions about how to best him on what has so long been Nadal’s exclusive turf — the red clay?

The 6-4, 6-4 win in Rome on Sunday marked the fourth straight time Djokovic has beaten Nadal this season — twice on the American hard courts, and now twice in eight days on the terre battue.

Those wins, and three more over Roger Federer, are part of a 37-match winning streak to start this season, a streak that has turned tennis on its ear.

Djokovic is hardly a new face. When he won the Australian Open in 2008 at age 21, he seemed headed straight to the top.

But this year’s model is unrecognizable.

“I have done everything that I can, I cannot ask more of myself but one player is doing better than me,” Nadal said. “I am waiting every week trying to find solutions, and we will see what happens next time.”

Nadal, searching for solutions on clay? Did hell just freeze over?

History has a way of repeating itself in sport. What Nadal did to his great rival Roger Federer a few years ago, Djokovic has begun doing to him.

At the Australian Open in 2009, Nadal sweated through a crazy five-hour, five-set marathon against compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals, only to face a well-rested Federer in the final.

No one — surely including Federer — thought Nadal would have anything left. But he found some magic energy, somewhere, and won the title.

Saturday night in the Rome semifinal, Djokovic barely got past a game Andy Murray in a third-set tiebreaker that went late into the night, while Nadal was safely tucked in at his hotel.

No one thought Djokovic would have anything left, just 18 hours later.

He played even better against Nadal.

Much has been made of a new doctor Djokovic has added to his entourage, one who discovered an allergy to gluten that finally seemed to explain a long history of breathing issues and lack of stamina.

But it’s more than that.

Djokovic has never been fitter. He has overcome a slump suffered as he adjusted to a new brand of racket — strictly a cash move, but one that cost him a year.

He slumped again as he searched for different tactical solutions beyond what longtime coach Marian Vajda was telling him, a period that really hurt his once-reliable serve.

He has put order into his personal life — overbearing parents Srdjan and Dijana aren’t quite as omnipresent as they used to be.

And he has stopped being the kid in school who desperately needs everyone to like him. He finally figured out that they like him — they really, really like him — and he stopped wasting so much energy on it.

Basically, Novak Djokovic has grown up — tennis players can be a little behind mere mortals in that regard.

He turns 24 on Sunday, the day the French Open begins, and he’s coming of age.

Djokovic is the perfect prototype of the modern tennis player. He’s big and tall — but as quick as lightning and as flexible as Gumby. There are no glaring weaknesses. And this season, Djokovic has upped the ante on the offensive side — turning defence into winners in a way he hadn’t done in the past.

And as the season has progressed, his confidence has soared. No longer does he search for reasons to lose — he finds reasons why he will win.

Still, what he has done to Nadal defies description, even if his words after the victory in Rome were self-effacing.

“Let us be clear: he is the king of clay and he is the best player ever to play on this surface,” Djokovic said. “This is only a couple of tournaments this year and he has been dominant on this surface for so many, many years.”

Funny, that’s the type of sincere noblesse oblige that used to come out of Nadal’s mouth, once he caught up to the great Federer.

But here’s the difference. Federer is five years older than Nadal and he had a long period of utter dominance before the man from Majorca came along.

Djokovic is a year younger — a true generational rival who seemingly has caught up before Nadal could even get comfortable in his well-deserved perch at the top of the game.

But everything changes this week, with the No. 1 ranking on the line.

Nadal owns Roland Garros. And it’s best-of-five sets now.

Here’s where we see if Superman really can fly. If Djokovic is holding up the famous Coupe des Mousquetaires on the second Sunday, we might have to find a new dictionary.